Process of manufacturing shoes.



J. W. MAY.

PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING SHOES.

APPLI CATION FILED mule. 1912.

1,177;64,7. Patented Apr. 4,1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Witnesses. Inventor.

\/ (II gather May, M P

M, Mk4dlz A-ttorn eys.

THE C'OLUMBXA PLAIflOGR/APH can, WASHINGTON. D. C.

J. W. MAY. PROCESSOF MANUFACTURING SHOES.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 13' I912- Patented Apr. 4, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- v gi Inventor J I Va Zter May,

PEP P W M FM 38/ \39 i Y Attorneys.

THE COLUMBIA PLANUURAPH :0, WASHINGTON, n. c

s H the' process of stitching the vamp to the other parts of the shoe, that is, during the it by the crimping process. Moreover, the- :J'OHN WALTER MAY, on BROQKLINE, MASSACHUSETTS.

PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING SHOES.

Application filed May 13,1912. S eria1l To. '69e,814.

To allwhom it may concern:

Be'it known that I, JOHN citizen of the United States, residing at Brookline, county of Norfolk, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Processes of Manufacturing Shoes,

of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawing, is

a specification, like characters on the drawing representing like parts.

11 the manufacture of shoes it has fh eretofore been customary to subject the vamp of the shoe upper to a crimping or forming process in order to give it a shape to fit' the last at the base of theinstep, but so far as I am aware this crimping process has always'been applied to the vamp itself before it is sewed to the tip, quarters, doubler, lining, and other parts forming the complete top of the shoe. The result is that during process of stitching the vamp to the tip or to the quarters, and of sewing the lining in place, the vamp is apt to be so distorted that theform or crimp which has previously bee'nput into it will be substantially, if not I entirely, removed so that when the shoe is lasted the upper does not fit down against the lastat the base of the instep, as it would do if the vamp retained the shape given to lining of a shoe is always more or less stiif,

due to the fact that it is generally loaded with some stiffening material, and since the vamp is crimped before the lining is attached thereto, the lining does not have the form of the crimped vamp, and, therefore, the non-formed lining acts to prevent the vamp, from closely fitting the last as it is designed to'do. V V

It has been proposed heretofore to crimp the liningas well as the vamp, and this has 7 been done by crimping the lining and vamp separately. While this method serves to give the lining a crimped shape, yet it has this disadvantage that when the parts of the shoe are assembled the crimped lining and the crimped vamp are very apt to be displaced slightly relative to each other so as to throw the crimped portions out of proper alinement, and when this condition exists it is very diflicult to draw the upper over the last'during the lasting operation in such a manner as to obtain a tight fit of the upper against the flat portion of the last.

W. MAY, 2. V

' In order to overcome these difi'iculties, I propose to perform thecrimping operation after the vamphas been sewedto the other parts forming the top ofthe shoe and when the top'of the shoeis completed ready to be lasted. 'lVhen thecrimping is doneat, this point in the process of manufacture, the lining and the vamp jboth' become subjected simultaneously to the crimping operation" and'are both properly shaped, and as the Specification of LettersPatent. Pate litd 4:, 19 16;,-

ne'xt step afterthe crimping operation is to lastthe shoe, there is no opportunity for the crimp of the vampto be lost by manipu- V lating the parts,'a s is done when theucrimped i l. upper is manipuated while it is being sewed to the tip, quarters, etc. a

,The' object of my invention is to pro-- vide' a novel processof manufacturing shoes which includes this step of crimping the completed'upper just prior to the'la'sting operation. v p 7 I In order to give a complete understanding of the invention I will describe herein a machine which may be used in'the carrying out of my novel process.

e In the drawings, Figure 1 is a sideview of I a crimping device adapted to'crimp the com; pleted upper of ashoe; Fig-.*2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view through the upper and lower forming tools; Fig. 3 shows. a

view of'a shoe after having been subjected to the crimping operation .on. my machine; Fig. 4 is a section on the linen-a, Fig. 2. T

In carrying out my invention the parts of the upperl' of theshoe, such for instance as the vamp 2, tip 3, quarters 4, lining 5 and doubler 6, are all assembled and sewed to+ gether in usual manner, and then afterthe parts comprising the completed upper are thus secured together and the shoe is ready for thflasting operation the vamp is subected to a crimping process along the line? so as to give to, the upper and lining a 'spe-Q clal shape which approximates that of the last at the base of the instep, so that when the shoeupper' is'placed overthe last and the toe of the upper isjldrawn around the last during the initial steps of. the lasting operation, the crimped portion of the upper:

will still conform app'roximatelyto the fiat portion of the last. The'result-of this con dition isthat the operator can pull the edges of the upper at the ball of'the foot over the last and secure a tight fit of the upper against the top portion of the last with very much less strain than is possible wherethe shoe upper is not subjected to the crimping operation. 1 V

In the ordinary process of manufacturing shoes it not infrequently happens that in pulling the sides of the upper over the sides of the last the operator is required to apply such an amount of force in order to bring the upper down close against the last as to undulystretch or strain the leather and to start the stitches which unite the quarters to the vamp, thus injuring the shoe more or less. In thus crimping the upper I find it desirable to soften the parts to be orimped somewhat either prior to i or during the crimping operation and this may be done by applying heat to the upper as it isbeing crimped or applying both heat and moisture. While the desired crimp may be given to the complete upper by any approved means without departing from my invention, I have herein shown a machine which I have designed for this purpose and which I will now describe. Thesaid machine comprises a stand 10 supporting a head 11 which carries a lower crimping tool 12 and an upper crimping tool 13. The lower crimping tool is fixedly secured to the bed and the upper crimping tool is movably mounted in a vertically-moving plunger 14:. This plunger 14 may be given its vertical movement in any approved way. As herein shown it has extending laterally therefrom a projection 15 which engages an arm 16 of'an elbow lever pivoted at 17, the other arm 18 of which lever is connected to an arm 19. The arm 16 of the lever is connected by a link 20 to a treadle 21 of suitable construction.

The arm 19 is pivotally connect-ed at its forward end to the upper end of a link 23, the lower end of which is pivoted to the head at 24. This arm 19 carries a finger 25 which is pivotally connected thereto at 26, and the end of which is connected to a rod 27 that extends up through the arm 19 and is acted upon by a spring 28. A spring 29 connecting the pivotal point 17 with the arm 19 I serves to hold the parts normally in the positioii shown in Fig. 1.

WVhenthe treadle 21 is depressed the arm 16 is moved downwardly, thus permitting the plunger to fall by gravity, and the turning movement of the elbow lever 16,18 carries the finger 25 over a roll 30 mounted in the upper end of the plunger 14 and further continued downward movement of the treadle results in applying pressure to the plunger through'the arm 19 and finger 25. When the'treadle is released the spring 29 restores the parts to their normal position. This particular way of operating the plunger 1% does not form any part of my invention, and the plunger might be operated by other means without departing from the invention.

"The forming tools 12-and 13 are of special conveniently be done by applying moisture shape adapted to give the vamp the desired crimp or form. The upper forming tool 13" is provided on its under face with a V shaped groove 31 which is curved in the di- I rection of its length, as seen best in Figs,

said groove having the low portion 32 and the highjportion 33. The, lower forming tool is provided with a'V-shaped extension 34: adapted to fit the groove 31, that is, said extension is provided with the side faces 35 adapted to engage the faces of the groove 7 31, and this extension is curved in the direc-gr tion of its length to conform to the curvaative engagement with the vamp, and the pressure is applied to the upper tool to Se cure the crimping operation. r

As stated above I find it desirable to soften the lining during the crimping operr ation because in most shoes the lining, comparatively stiff and the crimping of the lining in a dry statewould be liable to cause V it to break. My novel 'process,' therefore,

includes this step of softening. the lining during the crimpingoperation, and this may and heat to the lining. Ialso find that it is:

desirable to apply heat to theupper during.

the crimping operation so as to produce a.; a

more permanent set tothe crimping. 'In the machine herein'shown the softening of the lining during the crimping operation is provided for by forcing moist or saturated steam againstthe underside of the lining,

and in order to 'permit'this to be done, I

propose to make the lower tool 12 hollow, as seen in Fig. 2, and provide it with an open groove or slot 36 extending along the apex of the extension, and further to pro- I vide means' for delivering saturated steam a I vapor through opening 36. The head. 11 is shown as provided with a chamber 37 adapted to contain water, and this chamber is r covered by a cap or 'plate38 having an opening 39 and to which the lower tool 12 is fixedly secured by means of a clamping ring 7 40, said tool having the flange 4:1 thereon to i be engaged by the ring; The chamber 37 is adapted to contain water up to about the r level of the line 43, and I have provided a' device for deliveringsteam and air mixed into the chamber 37 against the surface of, thewater therein. The air which is mixed with the steam causes it to condense more or less, thus making a saturatedvapor which is somewhat in the nature of alfog', and this moist or saturated condition of the vapor is augmented bythe presence of the water in Y the chamber 37. The means for delivering the steamand air to the chamber comprises a nozzle member 14 to which a steam pipe 5 45 is connected and which'is provided with secured to the member 44 and extends up through the body of liquid in the chamber 37.

48 is a deflector situated at the upper end of the tube 47 and adapted to deflect the steam and air downwardly against the body of water. The member 44 is provided with air inlet ports 50 situated at the base of the nozzle 46, and with this construction the force of the steam issuing from thenozzle 46 will draw air in through the ports 50, and this air mixing with the steam will. cause more or less of it to condense, thus producing the saturated steam vapor in the' chamber 37. The deflection of the steam and air down against the body of water 43 also causes further condensation and further saturation of the vapor so that the vapor which is delivered through the opening 36 is extremely wet and highly adapted for moistening and softening the lining of the vamp at the point where the crimping occurs. If desired, I may provide apertures through the walls 35 of the extension 34 so that the moistening vapor will be delivered not only along the apex of said extension, but through the sides thereof. The condensation of the steam causes an accumulation of water in the chamber 37 and the surplus water will overflow into the pipe 47 through the ports 50 into an annular groove 51., from which it drains into the waste pipe 53 through the drain port 52.

In the operation of the device the completed shoe upper is placed over the lower tool 12 with the lining against the extension 34 of said tool and the upper tool is then forced against the shoe upper, as seen in Figs. 2 and 4. The saturated steam vapor issuing from the slot 36 moistens the lining so that it can be shaped or formed over the extension 34 without danger of breaking or cracking, and the upper and lower tools cooperate to force the shoe upper into the desired shape.

The extension 34 and the groove 31 are of a shape in the direction of their length to give the upper of the shoe the desired contour at the base of the instep, so that when the shoe is placed over the last the vamp will approximately fit the top of thelast even when the toe of the shoe is drawn over the toe of the last in initial steps of the last ing operation. As a result when the sides of the vamp are pulled over the sides of the last, the crimped portion of the vamp will lie down closely against the top of the last with a tight fit, and this desired tight fit can be secured without subjecting the upper to any undue strain which is likely to injure it or loosen the fittings. Moreover, with my invention it is possible to economize somewhat in the leather used in cutting the vamp,

for the crimping operation gives the vamp a shape to approximately fit the last before the lasting operation, and in order to secure a tight fit of the upper against the last it is not necessary to pull so great an extent of the upper over the edge of the last as is necessary with the old method.

It will be noted that the apex of the extension 34 of the tool 12 is flattened some-' What so that when the tools are placed in cooperative relation a space will exist be tween the bottom of the groove 31 andthe apex o-f'the extension 34. The purpose of this is to allow a comparatively free space over theslot 36' for the moist vapor towork out and penetrate through the'pores of the.

lining, doubler and vamp, thus to facilitate the softening operation. If thisspace 31 did not exist the passage of the steam into' and through these parts would be choked and prevented.

The upper crimping tool can be heated in any suitable way, and as herein shown it is provided with openings 62 into which an electric heating element 65 may be inserted, this element being controlled by a suitable switch 66. The upper tool is removably mounted in the plunger, said tool being provided with a stem 63 inserted into an opening in the bottom of the plunger and held in place by a removable pin'64. The lower tool is also removably held in place by the collar 40. By making the toolsremovable size, depending upon the shape which it is desired to give to the upper and the area-of the upper which it is desired to subject to the crimping or molding operation. In the particular machine which I have herein chosen to illustrate as an aid in giving an understanding of my invention, the molding tools are of a size to act on a limited portion of the upper, but as I believe it is new with me to crimp or mold the portion of the shoe upper at the base of the instep to approximately the shape of the last just prior to the lasting operation, I desire to claim this feature broadly, whether a greater or a less portion of the shoe upper is subjected to the molding operation.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. The process of making shoes which coning a heated moistening vapor against the upper.

l. The process of making shoes which consists in assembling and securing together the vamp, tip, lining and other parts going to make up a complete shoe upper, subject-1 ing the portion of thevamp and lining at the base of the instep to a crimping opera- 20 tion and simultaneously moistening and 7 J, 'WALTER MAY.

Witnesses: it

LOUIS C. SMiTH, THOMAS J. DRUMMoNn,

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner 0: Patents,

Washington, DLC. I 

